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August 13, 2013

How compliance professionals can maintain GRC during cloud deployment
The biggest challenge from a regulatory and data risk standpoint comes about when an organization's compliance team encounters a cloud deployment "after the fact." This happens more often than you might think: Most cloud deployments don't happen in a graceful, workmanlike manner where compliance teams are kept in the loop from inception through the final stages of implementation.

C++/CX Performance Pitfalls
Writing applications in C++/CX is not like writing normal C++ applications. The interoperability between pure C++ code and the Windows Runtime (WinRT) can be surprisingly expensive. In this article based on Sridhar Madhugiri’s video, C++/CX Best Practices, we look at some of the ways to avoid performance problems in Windows 8 development.

Strategies to encourage employee risk-taking
In today’s dynamic workplace, there’s plenty that has to change. But in organizations that are committed to building a risk-taking culture, one thing must remain consistent, and that is the leader’s response to risk. Constant, predictable reactions and support — despite the outcomes — is the only way to ensure the significant individual and organizational shifts required to institutionalize innovation and achieve long-term, sustainable growth.

The triumph of Patch Tuesday
One of the great, unappreciated inventions in security came from Microsoft almost 10 years ago in October, 2003: Patch Tuesday. Microsoft invented the process of regularly scheduled security updates. It was somewhat controversial at the time, but it was clearly the right thing to do and has eliminated what was becoming a regular series of crises, thus relieving a great deal of pressure from security admins.

Working Backwards to Unleash Your Creativity
Most people think innovation starts with a well-defined problem, and then you brainstorm a solution. Try the opposite: Work backwards by taking an abstract, conceptual solution and finding a problem it can solve. By constraining and channeling our brains, we can make them work both harder and smarter to find creative solutions —on demand.

How Agile development project leader became Jed Moffitt's IT sideline
Cost didn't clinch the decision. Catalyst IT's development methodology, Agile, did. The Agile approaches of short iterations and soliciting and acting on user feedback fit KCLS well. "No more waiting for new features and fixes, even the simple things, to get done," said Moffitt. "On a weekly basis, we're actually changing the system based on our specifications."

Big Data and the Role of the CIO
Nearly four in 10 CIOs cite overcoming a lack of support from their executive management teams as one of the biggest barriers they face to become more strategic. ... In line with this perception, senior executives often aim to keep discussions with the IT organization centered on budgets or software implementation, with few seeking to engage them in wider discussions about the value of technology as a strategic driver of growth or as a source of operational insight.

The Third Ear: A Powerful Tool To Becoming A Better Listener
Many leaders say they have an open door policy. While they mean well, in reality, often people's perception is that the door is left ajar, and not everyone is welcome through that door. That's because those on lower echelons don't always feel safe walking in to bring forward issues that need airing. In his Leadership Primer, Colin Powell states, "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you don't care."

11 Signs Your IT Project is Doomed
The IT world is no stranger to projects that go down in flames. Anyone who has had the unenviable pleasure of participating in a failed IT effort likely sensed its demise well before the go-live date. That sixth sense is invaluable in a competitive field like IT. Whether you're looking to avoid being saddled to a dud or to steer a doomed rollout out of the ditch, you must recognize the signs of imminent failure well before a project comes apart at the seams. It can be a career-saver.

John Deere plows into agile
The move to agile came "after some serious introspection in our development organization," said Tony Thelen, the director of the Intelligent Solutions Group, part of the company's enterprise IT operation. There are a lot of companies that are moving to agile -- Forrester Research conservatively estimates that 38% of businesses, from small to large, now use the development methodology.

Quote for the day:"You always pass failure on the way to success."--Mickey Rooney